Semiconductor device and process for production thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a semiconductor device with high reliability which has TFT of adequate structure arranged according to the circuit performance required. The semiconductor has the driving circuit and the pixel portion on the same substrate. It is characterized in that the storage capacitance is formed between the first electrode formed on the same layer as the light blocking film and the second electrode formed from a semiconductor film of the same composition as the drain region, and the first base insulating film is removed at the part of the storage capacitance so that the second base insulating film is used as the dielectric of the storage capacitance. This structure provides a large storage capacitance in a small area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device with circuitsconstructed of thin-film transistors (referred to TFT hereinafter). Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to electro-optical equipmenttypified by liquid crystal display devices and EL (electroluminescence)display devices, and to semiconductor circuits. The present inventionrelates also to electrical equipment (or electronic equipment) with theelectro-optical equipment or semiconductor circuits according to thepresent invention.

The term “semiconductor device” as used in this specification embracesany and all devices which function by utilizing the characteristics ofsemiconductors. They include electro-optical equipment, semiconductorcircuits, and electrical equipment.

2. Description of the Related Art

By virtue of its ability to be formed a transparent substrate, the thinfilm transistor (referred to as TFT hereinafter) has been activelyinvestigated for its application to the liquid-crystal display of activematrix type (referred to as AM-LCD hereinafter). On account of its highmobility, the TFT made with crystalline semiconductor film (typicallypolysilicon film) is expected to display fine images if functionalcircuits are integrated on the same substrate.

AM-LCD is basically constructed of a pixel portion (or pixel matrixcircuit) to display images, a gate driving circuit (or gate drivercircuit) to drive TFT for each pixel arranged in the pixel portion, asource driving circuit (or source driver circuit) to send image signalsto TFT for each pixel, and a data driving circuit (or data drivercircuit), all of which are formed on the same substrate. Incidentally,the region in which the gate driving circuit and source driving circuitare formed is called the driving circuit portion.

Recently, the system-on-panel has been proposed which has, in additionto the pixel portion and driving circuit portion, signal processingcircuits, such as signal driving circuits and γ-correction circuits,formed on the same substrate.

However, it is difficult to meet all the circuit requirements with TFTof the same structure because the pixel portion and the driving circuitportion differ from each other in their performance required. In otherwords, the driving circuit portion containing shift register circuitsattaches importance to high operation, while the TFT constituting thepixel portion (referred to as pixel TFT) attaches importance to the highwithstanding voltage. So far, there has been no TFT structure to satisfyboth of them.

The present applicant filed an application for construction which ischaracterized in that the TFT constituting the driving circuit portion(referred to as driving TFT hereinafter) and the pixel TFT differ fromeach other in the thickness of the gate insulating film. (JapanesePatent Laid-open No. 10-056184 and its corresponding to U.S. patentapplication No. 08/862,895) To be concrete, the gate insulting film ofthe driving TFT is made thinner than the gate insulating film of thepixel TFT.

SUMMARY

The present invention is an improvement on the pixel portion which isbased on the construction disclosed in the above-mentioned officialgazette. To be concrete, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a construction to secure a large capacity in a small area.

It is another object of the present invention to provide anelectro-optical equipment with high reliability (typified by AM-LCD) inwhich each circuit is constructed of TFT of adequate structure suitablefor individual circuits. It is another object of the present inventionto provide a semiconductor device (electrical equipment) with highreliability which has the electro-optical device as the display part.

The first aspect of the present invention resides in a semiconductordevice of the type in which the pixel portion has a pixel TFT and astorage capacitance for each pixel, characterized in that said pixel TFThas an active layer which is formed above a light blocking film, with aninsulating film of two or more laminated layers interposed between them,said storage capacitance is composed of an electrode (which is formed inthe same layer as said light blocking film), a dielectric material, anda semiconductor film (of the same composition as the drain region ofsaid pixel TFT), and said dielectric material is a partial layer of saidinsulating film of two or more laminated layers.

The second aspect of the present invention resides in a semiconductordevice of the type in which the pixel portion has a pixel TFT andstorage capacitance for each pixel, characterized in that said pixel TFThas an active layer which is formed above a light blocking film, with aninsulating film of two or more laminated layers interposed between them,said storage capacitance is composed of an electrode (which is formed inthe same layer as said light blocking film), a dielectric material, anda semiconductor film (of the same composition as the drain region ofsaid pixel TFT), and said dielectric material is said insulating film oftwo or more laminated layers remaining after removal of a portionthereof.

The third aspect of the present invention resides in a semiconductordevice of the type in which the pixel portion has a pixel TFT and astorage capacitance for each pixel, characterized in that said pixel TFThas an active layer which is formed above a light blocking film, with afirst insulating film (in contact with the light blocking film) and asecond insulating film (in contact with said active layer) interposedbetween them, and said storage capacitance is composed of an electrode(which is formed in the same layer as said light blocking film), saidsecond insulating film, and a semiconductor film (of the samecomposition as the drain region of said pixel TFT).

The semiconductor device defined above in the third aspect ischaracterized in that said second insulating film has a thickness whichis preferably smaller than ⅕ (preferably {fraction (1/100)} to {fraction(1/10)}) of that of the laminate film composed of said first insulatingfilm and second insulating film.

The fourth aspect of the present invention resides in a process forproducing a semiconductor device in which the pixel portion has a pixelTFT and a storage capacitance for each pixel, said process comprising astep of forming on a substrate a light blocking film and an electrodefrom the same material as the light blocking film, a step of forming afirst insulating film that covers said light blocking film and saidelectrode, a step of etching said first insulating film, thereby formingan opening on said electrode, a step of covering said first insulatingfilm and said opening, thereby forming a second insulating film, and astep of forming a semiconductor film on said second insulating film.

The fifth aspect of the present invention resides in a process forproducing a semiconductor device in which there is a driving circuitportion and the pixel portion has a pixel TFT and a storage capacitancefor each pixel, said process comprising a step of forming on a substratea light blocking film and an electrode from the same material as thelight blocking film, a step of forming a first insulating film thatcovers said light blocking film and said electrode, a step of etchingsaid first insulating film, thereby forming an opening on saidelectrode, a step of covering said first insulating film and saidopening, thereby forming a second insulating film, a step of forming asemiconductor film on said second insulating film, a step of coveringsaid semiconductor film, thereby forming a gate insulating film, a stepof etching a part of said gate insulating film, thereby exposing thesemiconductor film of said driving circuit portion and a part of thesemiconductor film of said pixel portion, and a step of performingthermal oxidation, thereby forming a thermally oxidized film on thesurface of the semiconductor film which has been exposed by the etchingof said gate insulating film.

The sixth aspect of the present invention resides in a process forproducing a semiconductor device in which there is a driving circuitportion and the pixel portion has a pixel TFT and a storage capacitancefor each pixel, said process comprising a step of forming on a substratea light blocking film and an electrode from the same material as thelight blocking film, a step of forming a first insulating film thatcovers said light blocking film and said electrode, a step of etchingsaid first insulating film, thereby forming an opening on saidelectrode, a step of covering said first insulating film and saidopening, thereby forming a second insulating film, a step of forming asemiconductor film on said second insulating film, a step of coveringsaid semiconductor film, thereby forming a gate insulating film, a stepof etching a part of said gate insulating film, thereby exposing thesemiconductor film of said driving circuit portion and a part of thesemiconductor film of said pixel portion, a step of performing thermaloxidation, thereby forming a thermally oxidized film on the surface ofthe semiconductor film which has been exposed by the etching of saidgate insulating film, and a step of forming the LDD region in thesemiconductor film of said driving circuit portion and the semiconductorfilm of said pixel portion, such that the LDD region in said drivingcircuit portion differs in length from that in said pixel portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the sectional structure of AM-LCD of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 2A-2C are diagrams showing the process of producing AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 1.

FIGS. 3A-3C are diagrams showing the process of producing AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 1.

FIGS. 4A-4C are diagrams showing the process of producing AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 1.

FIGS. 5A-5B are diagrams showing the process of producing AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 1.

FIGS. 6A-6D are block diagrams of AM-LCD and a diagram of circuitarrangement of Embodiment 2.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of the driving TFT (CMOScircuit) of Embodiment 3.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the sectional structure of AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 4.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the concentration distribution resultingfrom the doping of impurity elements of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the external appearance of AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 5.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the sectional structure of AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 7 .

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the sectional structure of AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 8.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the sectional structure of AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 9.

FIGS. 14A-14B are diagrams showing the sectional structure of thedriving circuit and the pixel portion of Embodiment 11.

FIGS. 15A-15B are diagrams showing the top structure of the pixelportion of Embodiment 12.

FIGS. 16A-16B are diagrams showing the top structure of the pixelportion of Embodiment 13.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the top structure of the pixel portion ofEmbodiment 14.

FIGS. 18A-18B are diagrams showing the process of producing AM-LCD ofEmbodiment 15.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the circuit construction of the EL displaydevice of Embodiment 17.

FIGS. 20A-20B are diagrams showing the top structure and the sectionalstructure of the EL display device of Embodiment 18.

FIGS. 21A-21C are diagrams showing the pixel portion of the EL displaydevice of Embodiment 19.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the optical response characteristics ofliquid crystal of Embodiment 20.

FIGS. 23A-23F are diagrams showing examples of electrical equipment ofEmbodiment 21.

FIGS. 24A-24D are diagrams showing examples of electrical equipment ofEmbodiment 21.

FIGS. 25A-25B are diagrams showing the construction of an optical engineof Embodiment 21.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with referenceto FIG. 1, which is a sectional view of AM-LCD in which the drivingcircuit portion and the pixel portion are integrally formed on the samesubstrate. In this embodiment, the basic circuit constituting thedriving circuit portion is a CMOS circuit, and the pixel TFT is a TFT ofdouble gate structure. The TFT may also be of single-gate structure ormultigate structure, such as triple gate structure.

In FIG. 1, there is shown a heat resistant substrate 101, which may be aquartz substrate, a silicon substrate, a ceramics substrate, or a metalsubstrate (typically a stainless steel substrate). The substrate,whatever it might be, may have an optional underlying film (preferablyan insulating film composed mainly of silicon).

There are shown a light blocking film 102 and a lower electrode 103 fora storage capacitance, which are formed from the same material on thesame layer. The light blocking film 102 and the lower electrode 103 areheat-resistant electrically conductive film which withstands temperatureof 800-1150° C. (preferably 900-1100° C.).

It typically includes a conductive silicon film (such asphosphorus-doped silicon film and boron-doped silicon film), a metalfilm (such as tungsten film, tantalum film, molybdenum film, andtitanium film), and a film of alloy composed of components of said metalfilm. They may be in the form of a silicide film or a nitride film (suchas tantalum nitride film, tungsten nitride film, and titanium nitridefilm). They may be used in combination to form a laminate.

The above-mentioned metal film should preferably be used in the form oflaminate with a silicon film to protect its oxidation. It may also becovered with an insulating film composed mainly of silicon so as toeffectively protect its oxidation. Incidentally, the term “an insulatingfilm composed mainly of silicon” as used in this specification denotes asilicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, or any insulating filmcontaining silicon, oxygen, and nitrogen in a prescribed ratio.

There is also shown an underlying film 104 which is 0.3-1 μm thick,preferably 0.6-0.8 μm thick. It is referred to as a first insulatingfilm hereinafter. It is an insulating film composed mainly of silicon.On this first insulating film 104 is formed an opening which becomeslater a storage capacitance. On that is formed again an insulating film105 composed mainly of silicon. It is referred to as a second insulatingfilm hereinafter.

What is shown here is of double-layer structure, one layer being thefirst insulating film 104 in contact with the light blocking film andthe other layer being the second insulating film 105 in contact with theactive layer of the pixel TFT. It may also be of multilayer structure.Therefore, the eventual structure will be such that the active layer ofthe pixel TFT is formed above the light blocking film 102, with theinsulating film (in the form of laminate with at least two layers)interposed between them. A partial layer (one layer or more layers) ofthe laminated insulating film constitutes the dielectric for the storagecapacitance. In other words, those layers which remain after a partiallayer is removed from the laminated insulating film become thedielectric for the storage capacitance.

In this embodiment, the second insulating film 105 functions as thedielectric for the storage capacitance (indicated by 106). The secondinsulating film 105 (or the dielectric 106 for the storage capacitance)should be 5-75 nm thick, preferably 20-50 nm thick. The thinner thesecond insulating film, the greater the storage capacitance it has.However, withstanding voltage should be taken into account to preventleak current. An effective way to increase the withstanding voltage isto form the film as two-layer laminate.

The first insulting film 104 should have a sufficient thickness so thatthe light blocking film 102 does not form parasitic capacity in concertwith the TFT above. Forming an opening at the part for the storagecapacitance makes it possible to make thin the dielectric for thestorage capacitance. Thus it is possible to gain capacity withoutincreasing the area on which capacity is formed. This construction forthe storage capacitance is not disclosed in the above-mentioned JapanesePatent Laid-open No. 10-056184.

Incidentally, what is characteristic of the structure shown in FIG. 1 isthat there is a difference in film thickness between the insulating filmformed between the active layer of the pixel TFT and the light blockingfilm 102 (or the laminate film composed of the first insulating film 104and the second insulating film 105) and the second insulating film 105formed between the upper electrode 118 for the storage capacitance madeof semiconductor film and the lower electrode 103 for the storagecapacitance (the dielectric 106 for the storage capacitance). To beconcrete, the thickness of the latter should be ⅕ (preferably {fraction(1/100)}−{fraction (1/10)}) of the thickness of the former.

In this way it is possible to form a large storage capacitance withoutcausing parasitic capacity to occur between the pixel TFT and the lightblocking film 102.

Incidentally, the light blocking film 102 formed under the pixel TFT maybe left in the floating state or kept at a fixed potential. The fixedpotential should be lower than the minimum potential of video signals,preferably equal to or lower than the minimum source potential of theentire circuits formed on the substrate.

For example, in the case of AM-LCD, various power supply lines areformed in the driving circuit portion, other signal processing circuits,and pixel portion, and they are provided with their prescribedpotential. In other words, there is a minimum potential as reference,and various voltages are established according to this reference. Theminimum source potential denotes the minimum potential that functions asreference in all circuits.

By making the light blocking film 102 in the floating state or keepingit at a fixed potential as mentioned above, it is possible to form thelight blocking which does not affect TFT operation (or does not causeparasitic capacity).

The light blocking film formed under the pixel TFT as mentioned aboveprevents the occurrence of light leak current due to stray light throughthe substrate. It is not necessary to form the light blocking film onthe driving circuit side which is not exposed to light. This ispreferable from the standpoint of making the parasitic capacity as smallas possible.

On the first insulating film 104 and the second insulating film 105 areformed the active layer of the driving TFT, the active layer of thepixel TFT, and the semiconductor film which becomes the upper electrodefor the storage capacitance. Incidentally, the term “electrode” as usedin this specification is a part of “wiring” and denotes the part forelectrical connection with other wirings or the part for intersectionwith semiconductor film. Consequently, “wiring” always includes“electrode” although they are used separately for convenience ofexplanation.

In FIG. 1, the active layer of the driving TFT is composed of the sourceregion 107, drain region 108, LDD (lightly doped drain) region 109, andthe channel-forming region 110 of the N-channel type TFT (referred to asNTFT hereinafter), and the source region 111, drain region 112, and thechannel-forming region 113 of the P-channel type TFT (referred to asPTFT hereinafter).

The active layer of the pixel TFT (which is NTFT in this explanation) isformed in the source region 114, the drain region 115, the LDD regions116 a and 116 b, and the channel-forming regions 117 a and 117 b.Moreover, the semiconductor film extending from the drain region 115 isused as the upper electrode 118 for the retention capacitor. In otherwords, the upper electrode 118 for the storage capacitance is composedof semiconductor film of the same composition as the drain region 115.

As mentioned above, according to the present invention, the storagecapacitance is formed by the electrode (or the lower electrode 103 forthe storage capacitance) formed on the same layer as the light blockingfilm 102, the dielectric (or the second insulating film 105), and thesemiconductor film (or the drain region 115 of the pixel TFT) of thesame composition as the drain region of the pixel TFT.

However, it is not always necessary that the drain region is connecteddirectly to the upper electrode for the storage capacitance; they may beelectrically connected to each other through other wirings. In addition,it is not always necessary that they are of the same composition; theymay be semiconductor film of other conductivity type or semiconductorfilm containing the same impurity as the drain region in differentconcentrations.

In the case shown in FIG. 1, there is a difference in the width (orlength) of the LDD region between the driving TFT and the pixel TFT. Itis necessary that the driving TFT (for which operating speed isimportant) should be thin to minimize resistance, and the pixel TFT (forwhich low off current (or drain current that flows when TFT is offstate) is important) needs the LDD region with a certain length.Therefore, the LDD region of the driving TFT should preferably be equalto or narrower than the LDD region of the pixel TFT.

Then, the gate insulating film is formed such that it covers the activelayer and the upper electrode for the storage capacitance. According tothe present invention, it is formed such that the thickness of the gateinsulating film 119 of the driving TFT is smaller than the thickness ofthe gate insulating film 120 of the pixel TFT. Typically, the thicknessof the gate insulating film 120 is 50-200 nm (preferably 100-150 nm) andthe thickness of the gate insulating film 119 is 5-50 nm (preferably10-30 nm).

Incidentally, the gate insulating film of the driving TFT is notnecessarily of single thickness. In other words, the driving TFT mayhave insulating films with different thicknesses in the driving circuitportion. In such a case, it follows that there are three or more kindsof TFT having gate insulating films differing in thickness on the samesubstrate. In other words, it can be said that the gate insulating filmof at least part of the driving TFTs contained in the driving circuitportion is thinner than the gate insulating film of the pixel TFT.

Then, on the gate insulating films 119 and 120 are formed the gatewirings 121 and 122 of the driving TFT and the gate wirings 123 a and123 b of the pixel TFT. The gate wiring 121, 122, 123 a, and 123 b isformed from heat-resistant electrically conductive film which withstandstemperatures of 800-1150° C. (preferably 900-1100° C.). To be concrete,the material is selected from the same one as the above-mentioned lightblocking film 102 or the lower electrode 103 for the storagecapacitance.

In other words, it includes a conductive silicon film (such asphosphorus-doped silicon film and boron-doped silicon film), a metalfilm (such as a tungsten film, a tantalum film, a molybdenum film, and atitanium film), and a film of alloy composed of components of said metalfilm. They may be in the form of a silicide film or a nitride film (suchas a tantalum nitride film, a tungsten nitride film, and a titaniumnitride film). They may be used in combination to form a laminate.

Also, the above-mentioned metal film should preferably be used in theform of laminate with a silicon film to protect its oxidation. The metalfilm may also be covered with an insulating film composed mainly ofsilicon so as to effectively protect its oxidation. In FIG. 1, theprotective film 124 is formed to protect the gate wiring from oxidation.

Then, the first interlayer insulating film 125 is formed. It is aninsulating film (single layer or laminate) composed mainly of silicon.The insulating film composed mainly of silicon may be silicon oxidefilm, silicon nitride film, silicon oxide nitride film (containingnitrogen more than oxygen), or silicon nitride oxide film (containingoxygen more than nitrogen).

Then, a contact hole is formed in the first interlayer insulating film125, and the source wirings 126 and 127 and the drain wiring 128 of thedriving TFT and the source wiring 129 and drain wiring 130 of the pixelTFT are formed. On it are formed the passivation film 131 and the secondinterlayer insulating film 132. On it is further formed the lightblocking film (black mask) 133. Moreover, on the light blocking film 133is formed the third interlayer insulating film 134. A contact hole isformed, and then the pixel electrode 135 is formed.

The second interlayer insulating film 132 and the third interlayerinsulating film 134 should preferably be a resin film having a smallrelative permittivity. Embodiments of the resin film include a polyimidefilm, an acrylic film, a polyamide film, and a BCB (benzocyclobutenefilm).

And, the pixel electrode 135 may be a transparent conductive filmtypified by ITO film, if AM-LCD of transmission type is to be obtained,or it may be a highly reflective metal film typified by aluminum film,if AM-LCD of reflection type is to be obtained.

Incidentally, in FIG. 1, the pixel electrode 135 is electricallyconnected to the drain region 115 of the pixel TFT through the drainelectrode 130. Alternatively, the pixel electrode 135 may be connecteddirectly to the drain region 115.

The AM-LCD constructed as mentioned above is characterized in that thegate insulating film of the driving TFT is thinner than the gateinsulating film of the pixel TFT and the first insulating is selectivelyremoved at the part for the storage capacitance and the thin secondinsulating film functions as the dielectric for the storage capacitance.In this case, there is the first insulating film (which is sufficientlythick) between the light blocking film 102 formed under the pixel TFTand the active layer. Therefore, there is no problem with parasiticcapacity.

In this way it is possible to arrange TFT most suitable for theperformance of the circuit, and at the same time it is also possible torealize the storage capacitance to secure a large capacity in a smallarea.

The present invention constructed as mentioned above will be describedin more detail with reference to the following embodiments.

Embodiment 1

Embodiment 1 demonstrate the process for producing the structure of FIG.1, which was explained above in “Description of the PreferredEmbodiments”. Explanation will be made with reference to FIGS. 2A to 5B.

First, a quartz substrate 201 (as the substrate) is made ready. On thesubstrate are formed the light blocking film 202 and the lower electrode203 for the storage capacitance. Each of the light blocking film 202 andthe storage capacitance is a laminate composed of a silicon film, atungsten nitride film, a tungsten film (arranged upward), or a laminatecomposed of a silicon film, tungsten silicide film, and silicon film(arranged upward). Needless to say, it is also possible to use otherconductive films explained in “Description of the PreferredEmbodiments”. In this embodiment, the film thickness is 200 nm.

Then, the first insulating film 204 (0.6 μm thick) of silicon oxide isformed such that it covers the light blocking film 202 and the lowerelectrode 203 for the storage capacitance. A part for the storagecapacitance (above the lower electrode 203 for the storage capacitance)is selectively etched to form the opening 205. Then, the secondinsulating film 206 (20 nm thick) of silicon oxide and the amorphoussilicon film 207 are formed by low pressure thermal CVD such that theycover the first insulating film 204 and the opening 205. This step iscarried out continuously without exposing to air. In this way it ispossible to prevent impurities (such as boron contained in the air) frombeing adsorbed to the lower surface of the amorphous silicon film.

Incidentally, Embodiment 1 employs the amorphous silicon film; however,it may be replaced any other semiconductor film, such asmicrocrystalline silicon film and amorphous silicon germanium film.

The second insulating film 206 functions as the dielectric for thestorage capacitance. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is formed fromsilane (SiH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) at 800° C. Thus there is obtaineda silicon oxide film (dielectric) of high quality.

Then, the amorphous silicon film 207 is crystallized. Crystallizationmay be accomplished by any know technology. The one disclosed inJapanese Patent Laid-open No. 9-312260 is used in this embodiment. Thistechnology employs an element selected from nickel, cobalt, palladium,germanium, platinum, iron, and copper as the catalyst to promotecrystallization. Crystallization of the amorphous silicon film isaccomplished by growth in solid phase.

In this embodiment, nickel is selected as the catalyst element, so thata nickel-containing layer (not shown) is formed on the amorphous siliconfilm 207. And, heat treatment is carried out at 550° C. for 4 hours forcrystallization. Thus there is formed the crystalline silicon(polysilicon) film 208. The state up to this stage is shown in FIG. 2B.

Incidentally, the crystalline silicon film 208 may be incorporated withan impurity (phosphorus or boron) to control the threshold voltage ofTFT. Phosphorus and boron may be added individually, or either of themmay be added.

Then, the mask film 209 (100 nm thick) of silicon oxide is formed on thecrystalline silicon film 208, and on it is formed the resist mask 210.Using the resist mask 210 as a mask, the mask film 209 is etched so asto form the openings 211 a-211 c.

In this state, an element (phosphorus in this embodiment) belonging toGroup 15 of the periodic table is added so as to form thephosphorus-doped regions 212 a-212 c. Incidentally, the concentration ofphosphorus added should be 5×10¹⁸ to 1×10²⁰ atoms/cm³ (preferably 1×10¹⁹to 5×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³). However, the concentration of phosphorus added isnot limited to this range. It varies depending on the temperature andtime of the subsequent gettering step and on the area of the phosphorusdoping region. See FIG. 2C.

Then, the resist mask 210 is removed, and heat treatment is carried outat 450-650° C. (preferably 500-600° C.) for 2-16 hours for the getteringof nickel remaining in the crystalline silicon film. The temperature foreffective gettering is 50° C. higher or lower than the maximumtemperature in heat history. Heat treatment at 500-650° C. is good forsatisfactory gettering because heat treatment for crystallization iscarried out at 550-600° C.

In this embodiment, heat treatment at 600° C. for 8 hours moves nickelin the direction of arrow, so that nickel is gettered (captured) by thephosphorus regions 211 a-212 c. In this way the concentration of nickelremaining in the crystalline silicon films 213 and 214 is reduced below2×10¹⁷ atms/cm³ (preferably 1×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³). This concentration isconfirmed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The above valuesare measurable limits. See FIG. 3A.

The step for the gettering of nickel is followed by the patterning ofthe crystalline silicon films 213 and 214 so as to form the active layer(semiconductor film) 215 of the driving TFT and the active layer 216 ofthe pixel TFT. In this step, it is desirable to completely remove thephosphorus-doped region which has captured nickel.

Then, the gate insulating film 217 is formed by plasma CVD orsputtering. This gate insulating film functions as the gate insulatingfilm of the pixel TFT. It is 50-200 nm thick. In this embodiment, it isa silicon oxide film, 100 nm thick. The silicon oxide film may belaminated with a silicon nitride film or incorporated with nitrogen toyield silicon oxide nitride film.

After the gate insulating film 217 has been formed, a resist mask (notshown) is formed. The gate insulating film is etched, so that the activelayer of the driving circuit portion and a part of the active layer ofthe pixel portion are exposed. In other words, the gate insulating film217 on the pixel TFT is left and that on the region to become thedriving TFT is removed. The state up to this step is shown in FIG. 3B.Then, heat treatment is carried out at 800-1150° C. (preferably900-1100° C.) for 15 minutes to 8 hours (preferably 30 minutes to 2hours) in an oxidizing atmosphere (thermal oxidation). In thisembodiment, thermal oxidation is carried out in an oxygen atmosphere at950° C. for 30 minutes.

Incidentally, the oxidizing atmosphere may be either a dry oxygenatmosphere or a wet oxygen atmosphere. The former is suitable forreduction of crystal defects in the semiconductor film. The oxygenatmosphere may contain a halogen. Thermal oxidation treatment in ahalogen-containing atmosphere is expected to produce the effect ofremoving nickel.

The thermal oxidation treatment forms the silicon oxide film (thermallyoxidized film) 218, 5-50 nm thick (preferably 10-30 nm thick) on thesurface of the semiconductor film which has been exposed by the etchingof the gate insulating film mentioned above. The silicon oxide film 218eventually functions as the gate insulating film of the driving TFT.

Oxidation reaction proceeds in the interface between the gate insulatingfilm 217 (which is a silicon oxide film remaining in the pixel TFT) andthe semiconductor film 216 under it. Therefore, the gate insulating film219 of the pixel TFT eventually has a thickness of 50-200 nm (preferably100-150 nm).

After the thermal oxidation step has been completed, the gate wirings220 (adjacent to NTFT) and 221 (adjacent to PTFT) of the driving TFT andthe gate wirings 222 a and 222 b of the pixel TFT are formed.Incidentally, the gate wirings 222 a and 222 b are depicted as if thereare two lines because the pixel TFT is of double-gate structure;however, in fact it is the same wiring.

In this embodiment, each of the gate wirings 220-222 b is a laminatefilm composed of a silicon film, a tungsten nitride film, a tungstenfilm (arranged upward), or a laminate film composed of a silicon filmand a tungsten silicide film (arranged upward). Needless to say, it isalso possible to use other conductive films explained in “Description ofthe Preferred Embodiments”. In this embodiment, the thickness of thegate wiring is 250 nm.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the lowermost layer of the siliconfilm is formed by low pressure thermal CVD. Since the gate insulatingfilm of the driving circuit is as thin as 5-50 nm, sputtering or plasmaCVD may cause damage to the semiconductor film (active layer) undercertain conditions. Therefore, thermal CVD is preferable which formsfilm by chemical gas-phase reaction.

Then, then each of the gate wirings 220-222 b is covered with theSiN_(x)O_(y) film 223, 25-50 nm thick, (x=0.5-2, y=0.1-0.8). ThisSiN_(x)O_(y) film 223 protects the gate wirings 220-222 b from oxidationand also functions as an etch stopper when the side wall (silicon film)is removed afterward. Incidentally, this step may be repeated twice soas to effectively reduce pinholes.

The step of forming the SiN_(x)O_(y) film 213 may be preceded by plasmatreatment with a hydrogen-containing gas (ammonia in this embodiment).This pretreatment confines hydrogen (which has been activated or excitedby plasma) in the active layer (semiconductor film), so that hydrogentermination is accomplished effectively.

Moreover, if nitrous oxide gas is added in addition to thehydrogen-containing gas is added, the surface of the object fortreatment is cleaned by water evolved. Therefore, it is possible toeffectively prevent contamination with boron etc. contained in theatmosphere. The state up to this step is shown in FIG. 3C.

Then, an amorphous silicon film (not shown) is formed. Anisotropicetching is carried out with a chlorine-based gas, so as to form the sidewalls 224, 225, 226 a, and 226 b. After that, the resist masks 227 a and227 b are formed. Then, the semiconductor films 215 and 216 are dopedwith an element (phosphorus in this embodiment) belonging to Group 15 ofthe periodic table.

At this time, the gate wirings 220-222 b, the side walls 224-226, andthe resist masks 227 a and 227 b function as masks, and the impurityregions 228-232 are formed.

The concentration of phosphorus added to the impurity regions 228-232 is5×10¹⁹-1×10²¹ atoms/cm³. In this specification, the concentration ofphosphorus is represented by (n+). See FIG. 4A.

This step may be carried out separately or simultaneously for the regionwhich becomes the driving TFT (with a thin gate insulating film) and thestorage capacitance and the region which becomes the driving TFT (with athick gate insulating film). Also, the step of phosphorus doping may beaccomplished by means of ion implantation (which performs massseparation) or plasma doping (which does not perform mass separation).The accelerating voltage and the amount of dose may be adequatelyestablished by the person who practices the invention.

Thus the state shown in FIG. 4A is obtained. Then, the resist masks 227a and 227 b and the side walls 224-226 b are removed. The step ofphosphorus doping is repeated. This step is carried out such that thephosphorus dosage is lower than that in the previous step. In this way alightly doped region is formed in the region which was not doped withphosphorus in the previous step. This step is carried out such that theconcentration of phosphorus doped in the lightly doped region is5×10¹⁷-5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³. In this specification, the concentration ofphosphorus in this case is represented by (n−). See FIG. 4B.

Needless to say, this step may also be carried out separately orsimultaneously for the region which becomes the driving TFT (with a thingate insulating film) and the storage capacitance and the region whichbecomes the driving TFT (with a thick gate insulating film). Also, thestep of phosphorus doping may be accomplished by means of ionimplantation (which performs mass separation) or plasma doping (whichdoes not perform mass separation). The accelerating voltage and theamount of dose may be adequately established by the person who practicesthe invention.

Since this lightly doped region functions as the LDD region, it isnecessary to carefully control the phosphorus concentration. In thisembodiment, plasma doping is carried out so that the doped phosphorushas the concentration distribution (or concentration profile) as shownin FIG. 9.

In FIG. 9, there is a difference in thickness between the gateinsulating film 901 adjacent to the driving circuit portion and the gateinsulating film 902 adjacent to the pixel portion. Consequently, thedoped phosphorus varies in concentration distribution in the depthwisedirection.

In this embodiment, the condition (such as accelerating voltage) forphosphorus doping is controlled so that the doped phosphorus has theconcentration distribution 903 in the driving circuit portion and theconcentration distribution 904 in the pixel portion. In this case, theconcentration distribution in the depthwise direction varies but thephosphorus concentration in the lightly doped regions 905 and 906 isapproximately the same.

Incidentally, the step shown in FIG. 9 can be applied to all other stepsfor impurity doping mentioned in this specification.

This step defines the source region 233, the LDD regions 234, and thechannel forming region 235 of the NTFT constituting the CMOS circuit.This step also defines the source region 236, the drain region 237, theLDD regions 238 a and 238 b, and the channel forming regions 239 a and239 b of the pixel TFT.

Further, the lower electrode 240 for the storage capacitance is defined.In this embodiment, the lower electrode 240 for the storage capacitanceis doped with phosphorus in the same concentration as the source regionor drain region by both the first phosphorus doping (n+) step and thesecond phosphorus doping (n−) step. Therefore, it becomes a conductivesemiconductor region having the same composition as the source region ordrain region of NTFT.

In this step, the lightly doped region 241 similar to that in NTFT isformed in the region which becomes PTFT of the CMOS circuit.

Then, the region, except for the region which becomes PTFT of the CMOScircuit, is covered with resist masks 242 a and 242 b, and doping isperformed with an element (boron in this embodiment) belonging to Group13 of the periodic table. This doping stet is carried out such that theconcentration of boron is higher than that of previously dopedphosphorus. To be concrete, boron is doped in concentrations of 1×10²⁰to 3×10²¹ atoms/cm³. In this specification, the boron concentration inthis step is denoted by (p++).

As the result, the impurity region with N-type conductivity formed inthe region to become PTFT has its conductivity inverted by boron andtakes on P-type conductivity. See FIG. 4C.

Needless to say, this step may be accomplished by means of ionimplantation (which performs mass separation) or plasma doping (whichdoes not perform mass separation). The accelerating voltage and theamount of dose may be adequately established by the person who practicesthe invention.

This step defines the source region 244, the drain region 245, and thechannel forming region 246 of the PTFT constituting the CMOS circuit.This step also defines the drain region 243 of the NTFT of the CMOScircuit.

In this way all the impurity regions are formed. Then, the resist masks242 a and 242 b are removed. Heat treatment is carried out at 750-1150°C. for 20 minutes to 12 hours. In this embodiment, this heat treatmentis carried out in an inert atmosphere at 950° C. for 2 hours. See FIG.5A.

This step activates phosphorus or boron added to each impurity region.It also expands the LDD region inward (or toward the channel formingregion), thereby producing the structure in which the LDD regionoverlaps with the gate wiring, with the gate insulating film interposedbetween them.

In other words, in the LDD region 247 of the driving TFT, phosphoruscontained in the LDD region 247 diffuses toward the channel formingregion 248. This creates a state in which the LDD region 247 overlapswith the gate wiring 220, with the gate insulating film interposedbetween them. This structure effectively prevents degradation due to hotcarrier injection.

Likewise, in the PTFT of the driving TFT, the source region 249 and thedrain region 250 diffuse toward the channel forming region 251 andoverlap with the gate wiring 221. Also, in the pixel TFT, the LDD region252 a and 252 b diffuses toward the channel forming regions 253 a and253 b, respectively, and overlaps with the gate wirings 222 a and 222 b,respectively.

The diffusion distance of impurity can be controlled by heat treatmenttemperature and time. Therefore, it is possible to control as desiredthe distance (length) over which the LDD region (or the source regionand drain region of PTFT) overlaps with the gate wiring. In thisembodiment, adjustment is made so that the overlapping distance is0.05-1 μm (preferably 0.1-0.3 μm).

Also, this step activates phosphorus added to the upper electrode 254for the storage capacitance, so that it becomes the region which hasN-type conductivity. In other words, it is possible to make thesemiconductor film function as the upper electrode 254 without applyinga voltage to the lower electrode 103 for the storage capacitance,thereby to induce carriers.

The state up to this step is shown in FIG. 5A. Then, the firstinterlayer insulating film 255 is formed. In this embodiment, it is asilicon oxide film (1 μm thick) formed by plasma CVD. A contact hole isformed and then the source wirings 256 to 258 and the drain wirings 259and 260 are formed. Each of these wirings is a laminate in which aconductive film composed mainly of aluminum is held between two titaniumfilms.

After the source wirings and drain wirings have been formed,hydrogenation is performed. This step consists of exposing the entiresubstrate to hydrogen activated (or excited) by plasma or heat. Thetemperature for hydrogenation is 350-450° C. (preferably 380-420° C.) inthe case of heat-activated hydrogen.

After that, the passivation film 261 is formed. The passivation film 261includes a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxide nitride film, a siliconnitride oxide film, and a laminate of one of these insulating films witha silicon oxide film. In this embodiment, the passivation film is asilicon nitride film (300 nm thick).

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the step of forming a silicon nitridefilm is preceded by plasma treatment with ammonia gas so as to form thepassivation film 261.

The pretreatment confines the plasma-activated (excited) hydrogen in thepassivation film 261. Further, if hydrogen-containing gas is usedtogether with nitrous oxide gas, it evolves water which cleans thesurface of the object for treatment. This is effective in preventingcontamination with boron etc. contained in the atmosphere.

After the passivation film 261 has been formed in this way, heattreatment at about 400-420° C. is carried out. The atmosphere for heattreatment may be an inert atmosphere or a hydrogen-containingatmosphere. This step releases hydrogen from the passivation film 261(which is a silicon nitride film) and causes this hydrogen to diffusedownward. This step also causes hydrogen contained in large amounts inthe first interlayer insulating film 255 by the previous hydrogenationstep to diffuse downward. (Upward diffusion is blocked by thepassivation film 261.) Thus the active layer (semiconductor film) isterminated with hydrogen. As the result, it is possible to effectivelyinactivate dangling bonds in the active layer.

After the hydrogenation treatment, the second interlayer insulating film262 is formed, which is an acryl film, 1 μm thick. On it is formed atitanium film (200 nm thick), which is subsequently patterned to formthe light blocking film (black mask) 263.

Then, the third interlayer insulating film 264 is formed, which is anacryl film, 1 μm thick. A contact hole is formed, and the pixelelectrode 265 of ITO film is formed. Thus, AM-LCD constructed as shownin FIG. 5B is completed.

The AM-LCD according to the present invention is characterized in thatthere is a difference in the thickness of the gate insulating filmbetween the driving circuit portion (or signal processing circuit part)and the pixel portion which are formed on the same substrate. Typically,the gate insulating film of the driving TFT used for the driving circuitportion is thinner than that of the pixel TFT used for the pixelportion.

Moreover, the pixel portion is provided with the light blocking filmunder the pixel TFT, with a thick underlying film (the first insulatingfilm) interposed between them, so as to prevent the formation ofparasitic capacity. Further, the underlying film is selectively removedat the part to become the storage capacitance, and a new thin dielectric(the second insulating film) is formed so as to produce a large storagecapacitance.

According to the production step of this embodiment, the active layer(semiconductor film) of TFT which is finally formed is a crystallinesilicon film of unique crystal structure having continuous crystallattice. This feature is explained in the following.

The first feature is that the crystalline silicon film formed by theabove-mentioned step has the crystalline structure in which microscopicneedle crystals or rod-like crystals collectively referred to asrod-like crystals) gather together. This crystal structure is readilyconfirmed by observation under a transmission electron microscope (TEM).

The second feature is that the ratio of orientation of the {220} planeis greater than 0.7, typically greater than 0.85, as calculated by X-raydiffractometry (strictly speaking, X-ray diffractometry for θ-2θmethod). The ratio of orientation is calculated according to the methoddisclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 7-321339.

The third feature is that the crystal lattice is continuous at the grainboundary. The present inventors have confirmed this by observing thegrain boundary at which individual rod-like crystals come into contactwith one another, by means of an HR-TEM (high-resolution transmissionelectron microscope). It is readily confirmed from the fact that thelattice stripes observed are continuously joined together in the crystalgrain boundary.

The continuity of the crystal lattice at the crystal grain boundaryresults from the fact that the crystal grain boundary is the one whichis referred to as “planar grain boundary”. This term used in thisspecification accords with the definition given in “Characterization ofHigh-Efficiency Cast-Si Solar Cell Wafers by MBIC Measurement; RyuichiShimokawa and Yutaka Hayashi, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics vol.27, No. 5, pp. 751-758, 1988”.

According to the above-mentioned paper, the planar grain boundaryincludes twin grain boundary, special laminate defect, and special twistgrain boundary. The feature of this planar grain boundary is that it iselectrically inert. In other words, this planer grain boundary can beregarded as substantially non-existing because it does not function as atrap to impede the movement of carries even though it is the grainboundary.

In the case where the crystal axis (the axis perpendicular to thecrystal plane) is the <110> axis, the {211} twin grain boundary isreferred to as the coincidence boundary of Σ3. The Σ value is aparameter indicating the degree of matching of the coincidence boundary.For example, it is known that the grain boundary formed between twocrystal grains is the coincidence boundary of Σ3 if the orientation oftheir crystal plane is {110} and the angle (θ) of the lattice stripecorresponding to the {111} plane is 70.5°.

The crystalline silicon film in this embodiment has the followingfeature. Most of grain boundaries between two crystals with the <110>axis are formed such that the grain stripes of adjacent crystal grainsare continuous at an angle of about 70.5°. This is found by observationwith an HR-TEM. Therefore, it is presumed that the grain boundary is thecoincidence boundary of Σ3, that is, the {211} twin boundary.

The crystal structure (to be more accurate, the structure of crystalgrain boundary) mentioned above indicates that two different crystalgrains are joined together with extremely good matching. That is, at thegrain boundaries the crystal lattices are continuously connected, sothat the trap level due to lattice defect scarcely occurs. Therefore, itmay be assumed that crystal grains do not substantially exist in thesemiconductor film having the above-mentioned crystal structure.

In addition, it has also been confirmed by observation with a TEM thatdefects in crystal grains are diminished almost completely by heattreatment (or thermal oxidation step in this embodiment) at hightemperatures of 700-1150° C. It is apparent that the number of defectsis greatly reduced after this heat treatment step.

The difference in the number of defects manifests itself as thedifference in spin density determined by ESR (Electron Spin Resonance).It is known that the crystalline silicon film produced in the step ofthis embodiment has a spin density smaller than 5×10¹⁷ spins/cm³(preferably smaller than 3×10¹⁷ spins/cm³). Since this measured value isclose to the detecting limit of the measuring apparatus, the actual spindensity would be much smaller.

It is concluded from the foregoing that the crystalline silicon filmobtained in this embodiment may be regarded as a single-crystal siliconfilm or a substantially single-crystal silicon film because it issubstantially free of crystal grain boundaries.

(Regarding electrical properties of TFT)

The TFT produced in this embodiment exhibits good electrical propertiescomparable to those of MOSFET. The present inventors' experimental TFT(with a 35 nm thick active layer and an 80 nm thick gate insulatingfilm) gave the following data.

(1) The sub-threshold coefficient as the index of switching performance(rapidity of on/off switching) is as small as 80-150 mV/decade(typically 100-120 mV/decade) in both N-channel type TFT and P-channeltype TFT.

(2) The electric field effect mobility (μ_(FE)) as the index of theoperating speed of TFT is as large as 150-650 cm²/Vs (typically 200-500cm²/Vs) for N-channel type TFT and as large as 100-300 cm²/Vs (typically120-200 cm²/Vs) for P-channel type TFT.

(3) The threshold voltage (V_(th)) as the index of the driving voltageof TFT is as small as −0.5 to 1.5V for N-channel type TFT and as smallas −1.5 to 0.5V for P-channel type TFT.

As mentioned above, it has been confirmed that extremely good switchingcharacteristics and high-speed operating characteristics can berealized.

Embodiment 2

Embodiment 2 shows, with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D, what type of TFTshould be used for what type of circuits.

AM-LCD differs in minimum operating voltage (source voltage) dependingon circuits. The operating voltage in the pixel portion is as high as14-20V when the voltage applied to liquid crystal and the voltage todrive pixel TFT are combined together. Therefore, it is necessary to useTFT which withstands such a high voltage.

On the other hand, an operating voltage of about 5-10V is enough for theshift register circuit used for the source driving circuit and the gatedriving circuit. The advantage of low operating voltage is goodcompatibility with external signals and low power consumption. However,the above-mentioned TFT capable of withstanding high voltage sacrificesthe operating speed; therefore, it is not suitable for those circuits,such as shift register circuit, which require high-speed operation.

As mentioned above, the circuits formed on the substrate are dividedinto two groups according to objects: one for TFT which needs goodwithstand voltage characteristics and one for TFT which needs highoperating speed.

A typical construction in this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 6A-6D. FIG.6A is a block diagram (top view) of AM-LCD. There is shown the pixelportion 601, in which the pixel has the pixel TFT and the storagecapacitance. It functions as the image display portion. There are shownthe shift register circuit 602 a, the level shifter circuit 602 b, andthe buffer circuit 602 c. These circuits as a whole constitute the gatedriving circuit.

AM-LCD shown in FIG. 6A has two gate driving circuits, with the pixelportion held between them, each having the same gate wiring. In otherwords, there is redundancy so that voltage can be applied to the gatewiring even though malfunction occurs in either of the gate drivingcircuits.

Also, there are shown the shift register circuit 603 a, the levelregister circuit 603 b, the buffer circuit 603 c, and the samplingcircuit 603 d. These circuits as a whole constitute the source drivingcircuit. There is shown the precharge circuit 604, which is opposite tothe source driving circuit, with the pixel portion interposed betweenthem.

In the AM-LCD constructed as mentioned above, the shift register circuit602 a and 603 a is a circuit which needs high-speed operation; itoperates at a voltage of 3.3-10V (typically 3.3-5V) and it does not needhigh withstand voltage characteristics. Therefore, the gate insulatingfilm should be as thin as 5-50 nm (preferably 10-30 nm).

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of CMOS circuit to be used for suchcircuits as shift register circuits and other signal processing circuitswhich need high-speed operation.

In FIG. 6B, there are shown the gate insulating film 605 a for NTFT andthe gate insulating film 605 b for PTFT. They have a small thickness of5-50 nm (preferably 10-30 nm).

The length of the LDD region 606 should preferably be 0.1-0.5 μm(typically 0.2-0.3 μm). The LDD region may be omitted if the operatingvoltage is as low as 2-3V.

The CMOS circuit shown in FIG. 6C is suitable for the level shiftercircuit 602 b and 603 b, the buffer circuit 602 c and 603 c, thesampling circuit 603 d, and the precharge circuit 604. These circuitsare designed to work at a high voltage of 14-16V so that they pass alarge amount of current. Particularly, the gate driving side sometimesneeds an operating voltage as high as 19V. This situation calls for TFThaving very good withstand voltage characteristics.

The CMOS circuit shown in FIG. 6C is designed such that the gateinsulting film 607 a for NTFT and the gate insulating film 607 b forPTFT have a thickness of 50-200 nm (preferably 100-150 nm). Thiscircuit, which needs good withstand voltage characteristics, shouldpreferably have a thicker gate insulating film than the shift registercircuit shown in FIG. 4B.

The length of the LDD region 608 should preferably be 0.5-3 μm(typically 2-2.5 μm). The CMOS circuit shown in FIG. 6C receives a highvoltage (equal to that of pixel), like the buffer circuit. Therefore,the length of the LDD region should preferably be equal to or close tothat of the pixel.

FIG. 6D is a schematic diagram of the pixel portion 601. The pixel TFTneeds an operating voltage of 14-16V, including the voltage to beapplied to the liquid crystal. In addition, it should have a minimum ofoff current because it has to hold the charge stored in the liquidcrystal and storage capacitance for one-frame period.

For the reason mentioned above, the one in this embodiment is ofdouble-gate structure with NTFT and the gate insulating film 609 has athickness of 50-200 nm (preferably 100-150 nm). This film thickness maybe equal to or different from that of the CMOS circuit shown in FIG. 6C.

Incidentally, the film thickness of the dielectric 610 for the storagecapacitance is 5-75 nm (preferably 20-50 nm).

The length of the LDD regions 611 a and 611 b should preferably be 1-4μm (typically 2-3 μm). The pixel TFT shown in FIG. 6D receives a highvoltage of 14-16V; therefore, the length of the LDD regions should berather long.

In addition, the pixel TFT should have as low off current as possible(drain current which flows when TFT in off state). Therefore, each ofthe LDD regions 611 a and 611 b should have such a region (1-3 μm) whichdoes not overlap with the gate wiring. This region functions as theordinary LDD region.

As shown above with reference to AM-LCD, various circuits are formed onthe same substrate and they differ in operating voltage (or sourcevoltage) they need. An effective way to cope with this situation is toarrange TFTs designed such that the gate insulating film differs inthickness or the LDD region differs in length between the drivingcircuit portion and the pixel portion, as in the case of thisembodiment.

The construction shown in Embodiment 2 will be effectively realized byusing the circuit shown in Embodiment 1.

Embodiment 3

The process shown in Embodiment 1 includes a step of removing the gateinsulating film selectively. In the region to become the driving TFT,this step should preferably be carried out, as shown in FIG. 7. In FIG.7, there are shown the active layer 701, the end 702 of the gateinsulating film 217, and the gate wirings 703 and 704. As shown in FIG.7, the gate wiring gets over the active layer at 705. The gateinsulating film should preferably be partly left at the end of theactive layer 701.

The end of the active layer 701 is subject to “edge thinning” in thethermal oxidation step to be carried out afterward. “Edge thinning” is aphenomenon that oxidation reaction proceeds as if it creeps under theend of the active layer, with the end becoming thin and warping upward.This phenomenon makes the gate wiring break easily when it gets over thethinned edge.

It is possible to prevent the phenomenon of edge thinning from occurringat the portion 705 where the gate wiring gets over the gate insulatingfilm, if the gate insulating film is removed in such a way as shown inFIG. 7. Therefore, it is possible to previously prevent the problem withthe breaking of the gate wiring. Incidentally, the construction inEmbodiment 3 may be effectively utilized in Embodiment 1.

Embodiment 4

Embodiment 4 demonstrates a modification of the structure of AM-LCDshown in FIG. 1. The modified structure is shown in FIG. 8. In thisstructure, the capacity wiring which has been formed simultaneously withthe gate wiring is used as the electrode for the storage capacitance.

In the structure shown in FIG. 8, the first electrode 801, the firstdielectric 802, and the second electrode 803 form the first storagecapacitance, and the second electrode 803, the second dielectric 804,and the third electrode 805 form the second storage capacitance. Thesecond dielectric 804 is an extension of the gate insulating film, andthe third electrode 805 is formed simultaneously with the gate wiring.

The two units of storage capacitance connected in parallel provide alarge retention capacity. In this case, the first electrode 801 and thethird electrode 805 should be at a different or identical fixedpotential.

The construction in this embodiment can be realized simply by providingthe third electrode in Embodiment 1. The construction in Embodiment 4may be combined freely with the construction of Embodiments 2 and 3.

Embodiment 5

Embodiment 5 demonstrates the actual production of AM-LCD in which TFTis formed on the substrate according to the steps shown in Embodiment 1.

In the state shown in FIG. 5B, an orientation film (80 nm thick) isformed on the pixel electrode 265. An opposite substrate is produced byforming on a glass substrate a color filter, a transparent electrode (anopposed electrode), and an orientation film. The orientation filmundergoes rubbing treatment. The substrate (with TFTs formed thereon)and the opposite substrate are bonded together with a sealing agent, anda liquid crystal is held between them. The step for cell assembling canbe accomplished in any known way. Its detailed description is omitted.

A spacer may be employed to maintain the cell gap. Spacer may be omittedin the case of small AM-LCD with a diagonal smaller than 1 inch.

The AM-LCD produced as mentioned above has an external appearance asshown in FIG. 10. There is shown the active matrix substrate 11 (thesubstrate on which TFTs are formed). This substrate has formed thereonthe pixel portion 12, the source driving circuit 13, the gate drivingcircuit 14, and the signal processing circuit 15 (a signal dividingcircuit, a D/A converter circuit, a γ-correction circuit, a differentialamplifying circuit, and the like). It is provided with FPC 16 (flexibleprint circuit). There is shown the opposite substrate 17.

Incidentally, Embodiment 5 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 4.

Embodiment 6

Embodiment 6 demonstrates the forming of the crystalline silicon film ina way different from that in Embodiment 1.

To be concrete, this embodiment employs the technique disclosed inEmbodiment 2 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 7-130652 (corresponding toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/329,644) to crystallize theamorphous silicon film. This technique causes a catalyst element(typically nickel) for crystallization to be selectively held on thesurface of the amorphous silicon film. The selected portion functions asnuclei for crystal growth.

According to this technique, it is possible to grow crystals in aspecific direction and hence to form a crystalline silicon film with avery high crystallinity.

For the catalyst element to be selectively held, an insulating film formasking is provided. This insulating film can also be used as the maskfor phosphorus to be added for gettering. This helps decrease the numberof steps. A detailed description of this technique will be found inJapanese Patent Laid-open No. 10-247735 (corresponding to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/034,041) filed by the present applicant.

Incidentally, Embodiment 6 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 5.

Embodiment 7

Embodiment 7 demonstrates, with reference to FIG. 11, the forming of thestorage capacitance which is different in structure from that inEmbodiment 1. To be concrete, the dielectric for the storage capacitanceis an oxide film which is obtained by oxidizing the lower electrode forthe storage capacitance.

First, the substrate is processed so as to form thereon the lightblocking film 21 and the lower electrode 22 for the storage capacitance.The same material as used in Embodiment 1 may be used. In thisembodiment, a preferable material is one which forms a good insulatingfilm when its upper surface is oxidized.

In this embodiment, a laminate of three-layer structure is used. It iscomposed of a silicon film, a tungsten film (or a tungsten silicidefilm), and a silicon film, arranged upward. Alternatively, it iscomposed of a tantalum film, a tantalum nitride film, and a tantalumfilm, arranged upward.

After the light blocking film 21 and the lower electrode 22 for thestorage capacitance have been formed, oxide films 23 and 24 are formedon the surface by heat treatment, plasma treatment, or anodizing. Inthis embodiment, the oxide film is a silicon oxide film, and hence it isformed by heat treatment at 900° C. for 30 minutes. Incidentally, theoxide films 23 and 24 may be formed under adequate conditions which areselected according to the thickness and quality of the oxide filmrequired.

In this embodiment, the storage capacitance is formed by the lowerelectrode 22 for the storage capacitance, the silicon oxide film 24(formed by thermal oxidation), and the upper electrode (a semiconductorfilm) 25 for the storage capacitance.

In the case where the lower electrode 22 for the storage capacitance isa laminate of three-layer structure which is composed of a tantalumfilm, a tantalum nitride film, and a tantalum film, arranged upward, theoxide film 24 is a tantalum oxide film and hence it is possible toobtain a dielectric having a very high relative permittivity. Therefore,it provides a very large capacity with a small area.

Incidentally, Embodiment 7 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 6.

Embodiment 8

Embodiment 8 demonstrates, with reference to FIG. 12, the forming of thestorage capacitance which is different in structure from that inEmbodiment 1. To be concrete, the dielectric for the storage capacitanceis a tantalum oxide film.

In FIG. 12, there are shown the light blocking film 26, the lowerelectrode 27 for the storage capacitance, and the underlying film (asilicon oxide film) 28. Description of their materials may be found inEmbodiment 1. In this embodiment, an opening is formed in the underlyingfilm 28 and subsequently the tantalum oxide film 29 is formed bysputtering. The film thickness is 10-100 nm (preferably 30-50 nm).

Alternatively, an opening is formed and then the exposed lower electrode27 for the storage capacitance is oxidized by heat treatment, plasmatreatment, or anodizing to form the tantalum oxide film.

After the tantalum oxide film 29 has been formed, the thin silicon oxidefilm 30 (about 10 nm thick) and the upper electrode 31 for the storagecapacitance are formed. It is desirable to form continuously the siliconoxide film 30 and the amorphous silicon film (or a semiconductor filmwhich becomes later the upper electrode for the storage capacitance)without opening the chamber. The procedure in this way protects thelower surface of the active layer (which is adjacent to the upperelectrode) from contamination with boron etc. contained in theatmosphere.

Also, this silicon oxide film 30 functions as a barrier layer whichprevents mutual reaction between the tantalum oxide film 29 and theupper electrode 31 for the storage capacitance which is a semiconductorfilm (or a silicon film).

As mentioned above, this embodiment employs a laminate layer of thetantalum oxide film 29 and the silicon oxide film 30 as the dielectricfor the storage capacitance. Since the tantalum oxide film 29 has alarge relative permittivity (about 25), the dielectric provides asufficiently large capacity even though its thickness is about 100 nm.The thickness should preferably be as thin as 30-50 nm, with thedielectric strength taken into account.

Incidentally, Embodiment 8 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 7.

Embodiment 9

Embodiment 9 demonstrates, with reference to FIG. 13, the forming of thestorage capacitance which is different in structure from that inEmbodiment 1. To be concrete, before the dielectric for the storagecapacitance is formed, an insulating film as an etching stopper isformed.

In FIG. 13, there are shown the light blocking film 32, the lowerelectrode 33 for the storage capacitance, and the tantalum oxide film 34(20 nm thick) that covers them. Description of the materials of thelight blocking film 32 and the lower electrode 33 for the storagecapacitance may be found in Embodiment 1. The tantalum oxide film may beformed by sputtering or by oxidizing the lower electrode 33 for thestorage capacitance.

On them is formed the underlying film 35 (which is a silicon oxidefilm). In the underlying film 35 is formed an opening. The etching ofthe underlying film 35 is completely stopped by the tantalum oxide film34. Therefore, the electrode 33 underneath is not etched and the filmthickness is uniform in the opening in the tantalum oxide film 34.

After the opening has been formed, the dielectric (a silicon oxide filmin this embodiment) 36 for the storage capacitance is formed. On thedielectric is formed the upper electrode (a semiconductor film) 37 forthe storage capacitance.

In this embodiment, the etching stopper is a tantalum oxide film and theunderlying film is a silicon oxide film. However, other insulating filmsmay be used in combination if the film (as an etching stopper) and theunderlying film have a sufficiently large etching selectivity (greaterthan 10, preferably greater than 100).

For example, if the underlying film is a silicon oxide film, then theetching topper may be a silicon nitride film.

In this embodiment, an opening is formed in the underlying film 35 andthen a silicon oxide film (as the dielectric for the storagecapacitance) is formed again. However, it is possible to use thetantalum oxide film (as the etching stopper) alone as the dielectric forthe storage capacitance. In this case, it is desirable to interpose athin silicon oxide film (as a barrier layer) between the tantalum oxidefilm and the upper electrode for the storage capacitance.

Needless to say, in the case where a silicon nitride film is used as theetching stopper, it is possible to use the silicon nitride film alone asthe dielectric for the storage capacitance without specially forming adielectric.

Incidentally, Embodiment 9 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 8.

Embodiment 10

In Embodiment 1, phosphorus was used for the gettering of nickel (as acatalyst element to crystallize the silicon film). In Embodiment 10,other elements than phosphorus are used for the gettering of nickel.

The steps in Embodiment 1 are carried out until the stage shown in FIG.2B is reached. In FIG. 2B, there is shown the crystalline silicon film208. In this embodiment, nickel for crystallization is used in anextremely low concentration. To be concrete, a layer containing 0.5-3ppm (by weight) of nickel is formed on the amorphous silicon film, andthen heat treatment is carried out for crystallization. The nickelconcentration in the crystalline silicon film is 1×10¹⁷ to 1×10¹⁹atoms/cm³ (typically 5×10¹⁷ to 1×10¹⁸ toms/cm³).

After the crystalline silicon film has been formed, heat treatment iscarried out in an oxidizing atmosphere containing a halogen at 800-1150°C. (preferably 900-1000° C.) for 10 minutes to 4 hours (preferably 30minutes to 1 hour).

In this embodiment, heat treatment is carried out at 950° C. for 30minutes in an atmosphere composed of oxygen and 3-10 vol % of hydrogenchloride.

This heat treatment changes nickel in the crystalline silicon film intovolatile nickel chloride, which diffuses into the treating atmosphere.In other words, nickel can be removed by the gettering action ofhalogen. If nickel is present in high concentrations in the crystallinesilicon film, anomalous oxidation occurs in the portion where nickelsegregates. Therefore, the nickel concentration should be kept as low aspossible in the stage of crystallization.

Incidentally, Embodiment 10 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 9.

Embodiment 11

Embodiment 11 demonstrates another AM-LCD which differs from that inEmbodiment 1 in the structure of the CMOS circuit and pixel portion. Tobe concrete, the AM-LCD has the LDD region arranged differentlyaccording to the specifications required of the circuit.

The basic structure of the CMOS circuit and pixel portion is the same asthat shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, reference numerals are given only tothose parts specific to this embodiment.

The circuit shown in FIG. 14A is a CMOS circuit for the buffer circuitin which NTFT is of double-gate structure and PTFT is of single-gatestructure. In this embodiment, the LDD regions 41 a and 41 b at thesource side are formed by self-alignment process in which the side wallalone is used as the mask. The LDD regions 42 a and 42 b at the drainside are formed by using a resist mask. Each of the latter LDD regionshas a larger width (length) than each of the former LDD regions.

The CMOS circuit used for the driving circuit and the signal processingcircuit needs high-speed operation. Therefore, any resistance componentwhich lowers the operating speed should be eliminated as far aspossible. However, the LDD regions necessary to enhance the hot carrierresistance function as the resistance component. Therefore, theysacrifice the operating speed.

However, it is at the end at the drain region side of the channelforming region that hot carriers are injected. Therefore, it is a goodcountermeasure for hot carriers to form in that part the LDD regionwhich overlaps with the gate electrode, with the gate insulating filminterposed between them. Consequently, it is not always necessary toform the LDD region more than required at the end at the source regionside of the channel forming region.

Incidentally, the structure shown in FIG. 14A cannot be applied to thecase of action like the pixel TFT in which the source region and thedrain region are interchanged. In the case of a CMOS circuit, the sourceregion and the drain region are fixed; therefore, it is possible torealized the structure as shown in FIG. 14A.

The structure as mentioned above eliminates the resistance component dueto the LDD region at the source region side, and the double-gatestructure disperses and relieves the electric field applied across thesource and the drain.

FIG. 14B shows the structure of the pixel portion according to oneembodiment. In the case of the structure shown in FIG. 14B, the LDDregions 43 a and 43 b are formed only at one side close to the sourceregion or the drain region. In other words, the LDD region is not formedbetween the two channel forming regions 44 a and 44 b.

In the case of a pixel TFT, the source region and the drain region areinterchanged frequently because charging and discharging are repeated.Therefore, the structure shown in FIG. 14B is equivalent to forming theLDD region at the drain region side of the channel forming region nomatter which becomes the drain region. Conversely, since an electricfield does not concentrate in the region between the channel formingregions 44 a and 44 b, eliminating the LDD region (which becomes theresistance component) is an effective way to increase the on-current(the current which flows when the TFT is ON).

Incidentally, Embodiment 11 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 10.

Embodiment 12

Embodiment 12 explains an embodiment relating to the position where thestorage capacitance is formed in the pixel portion. For explanation,FIGS. 15A and 15B are used. Incidentally, FIG. 15B is a sectional viewtaken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 15A. The same numerals are used forthe same parts in FIGS. 15A and 15B.

In FIG. 15A, there are shown the lower electrode 51 for the storagecapacitance which is formed simultaneously with the light blocking film,the semiconductor film 52, the gate wiring 53, the source wiring 54, andthe drain wiring (drain electrode) 55.

The lower electrode 51 for the storage capacitance is formed such thatit overlaps with the gate wiring 53 and the source wiring 54, and it hasa mesh pattern (in matrix form). In other words, all the lowerelectrodes 51 for the storage capacitance are at the same potential(preferably at the minimum source potential).

On it are formed the underlying film 56 and the semiconductor film 52,with the insulating film 57 interposed between them. (The insulatingfilm 57 becomes later the dielectric for the storage capacitance.)Incidentally, in the storage capacitance portion, the underlying film 56is removed and the storage capacitance is formed by the lower electrode51 for the storage capacitance, the insulating film 57, and thesemiconductor film 52.

This embodiment is characterized in that the storage capacitance portionis formed under the gate wiring 53 and the source wiring 54. Suchstructure increases the aperture ratio and permits a bright image to bedisplayed. In addition, the storage capacitance is protected from lightso that leakage of charge from the storage capacitance is prevented.

In this embodiment, the semiconductor film is patterned such that thepixel TFT becomes of triple-gate structure. However, this embodiment isnot limited to that. Incidentally, Embodiment 12 may be combined freelywith any of Embodiments 1 to 11.

Embodiment 13

Embodiment 13 explains an embodiment relating to the position where thestorage capacitance is formed in the pixel portion. For explanation,FIGS. 16A and 16B are used. Incidentally, FIG. 16B is a sectional viewtaken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 16A. The same numerals are used forthe same parts in FIGS. 16A and 16B.

In FIG. 16A, there are shown the lower electrode 61 for the storagecapacitance which is formed simultaneously with the light blocking film,the semiconductor film 62, the gate wiring 63, the source wiring 64, andthe drain wiring (drain electrode) 65.

The lower electrode 61 for the storage capacitance is formed such thatit overlaps with the source wiring 64, and it has a mesh pattern (inmatrix form). In other words, all the lower electrodes 61 for thestorage capacitance are at the same potential (preferably at the minimumsource potential).

On it are formed the underlying film 66 and the semiconductor film 62,with the insulating film 67 interposed between them. (The insulatingfilm 67 becomes later the dielectric for the storage capacitance.)Incidentally, in the storage capacitance part, the underlying film 66 isremoved and the storage capacitance is formed by the lower electrode 61for the storage capacitance, the insulating film 67, and thesemiconductor film 62.

This embodiment is characterized in that the storage capacitance part isformed under the source wiring 64. Such structure increases the apertureratio and permits a bright image to be displayed. In addition, thestorage capacitance is protected from light so that leakage of chargefrom the storage capacitance is prevented.

In this embodiment, the semiconductor film is patterned such that thepixel TFT becomes of triple-gate structure. However, this embodiment isnot limited to that.

Incidentally, Embodiment 13 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 11.

Embodiment 14

Embodiment 14 explains an embodiment relating to the position where thestorage capacitance is formed in the pixel portion. For explanation,FIG. 17 is used.

In FIG. 17, there are shown the lower electrode 71 for the storagecapacitance, the semiconductor film 72, the gate wirings 73 a and 73 b,the source wiring 74, and the drain wiring (drain electrode) 75.

The lower electrode 71 for the storage capacitance is formed such thatit overlaps with the gate wirings 73 a and 73 b and the source wiring74, and it has a mesh pattern (in matrix form). In other words, all thelower electrodes 71 for the storage capacitance are at the samepotential (preferably at the minimum source potential).

On it is formed the semiconductor film 72, with the underlying film andthe dielectric for the storage capacitance interposed between them.Incidentally, in the storage capacitance portion, the underlying film isremoved and the storage capacitance is formed by the lower electrode 71for the storage capacitance, the dielectric for the storage capacitance,and the semiconductor film 72.

This embodiment is characterized in that the storage capacitance portionis formed under the second wiring 73 b and the source wiring 74. Thisembodiment differs from Embodiments 12 and 13 in that the storagecapacitance is formed under either of the gate wiring which is notselected (or the gate wiring 73 b adjacent to the gate wiring 73 a whichis selected).

In the case of this embodiment, when charge is stored in the storagecapacitance portion, the gate wiring above it is not selected.Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fluctuation of the chargestored in the storage capacitance due to parasitic capacity. Suchstructure increases the aperture ratio and permits a bright image to bedisplayed. In addition, the storage capacitance is protected from lightso that leakage of charge from the storage capacitance is prevented.

In this embodiment, the semiconductor film is patterned such that thepixel TFT becomes of triple-gate structure. However, this embodiment isnot limited to that.

Incidentally, Embodiment 14 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 11.

Embodiment 15

Embodiment 15 explains an embodiment in which the first interlayerinsulating film is formed in a way different from that in Embodiment 1.For explanation, FIGS. 18A-18B are used.

The procedure in Embodiment 1 is followed until the activation stepshown in FIG. 5A is completed. Then, a silicon nitride oxide film (A)1801 is formed, which is 50-100 nm thick (70 nm thick in thisembodiment). On it is formed a silicon nitride oxide film (B) 1802 isformed, which is 600 nm to 1 μm thick (800 nm thick in this embodiment).

On it is further formed a resist mask 1803. See FIG. 18A.

Incidentally, the silicon nitride oxide film (A) 1801 and the siliconnitride oxide film (B) 1802 differ from each other in the composition ofnitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and silicon contained therein. The siliconnitride oxide film (A) 1801 is composed of nitrogen 7%, oxygen 59%,hydrogen 2%, and silicon 32%. The silicon nitride oxide film (B) 1802 iscomposed of nitrogen 33%, oxygen 15%, hydrogen 23%, and silicon 29%.This composition is not limitative.

The resist mask 1803 is so thick as to completely flatten the surface ofthe silicon nitride oxide film (B) 1802.

Then, the resist mask 1803 and the silicon nitride oxide film (B) 1802undergoes dry etching with a mixed gas of carbon tetrafluoride andoxygen. This dry etching proceeds at almost the same etching rate forboth the resist mask 1803 and the silicon nitride oxide film (B) 1802.

This etching removes the resist mask 1803 completely and the siliconnitride oxide film (B) 1802 partly (up to a depth of 300 nm from thesurface in this embodiment), as shown in FIG. 18B. As the result, thesurface flatness of the resist mask 1803 affects directly the surfaceflatness of the silicon nitride oxide film (B) which has been etched.

Thus there is obtained the first interlayer insulating film 1804 whichis extremely flat. In this embodiment, the first interlayer insulatingfilm 1804 has a thickness of 500 nm. For the subsequent steps, refer toEmbodiment 1.

Incidentally, Embodiment 15 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 14.

Embodiment 16

The present invention can be applied when an interlayer insulating filmis formed on the conventional MOSFET and then TFT is formed thereon. Inother words, it is possible to realize a semiconductor device ofthree-dimensional structure in which reflection-type AM-LCD is formed onthe semiconductor circuit.

Also, the above-mentioned semiconductor circuit may be one which isformed on an SOI substrate such as SIMOX, Smart-Cut (registered trademark of SOITEC), and ELTRAN (registered trade mark of Canon).

Incidentally, Embodiment 16 may be combined freely with any ofEmbodiments 1 to 14.

Embodiment 17

The present invention can be applied to an active matrix type ELdisplay.

FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram of an active matrix type EL display. Thereare shown the display region 81, the X-direction (gate) driving circuit82, and the Y-direction (source) driving circuit 83. Each pixel in thedisplay region 81 has the TFT 84 for switching, the capacitor 85, theTFT 86 for current control, and the organic EL element 87. The TFT 84for switching is connected to the X-direction (gate) signal line 88 a(or 88 b) and to the Y-direction (source) signal line 89 a (or 89 b, 89c). The TFT 86 for current control is connected to the source lines 90 aand 90 b.

The active matrix type EL display in this embodiment is characterized inthat the gate insulating film of the TFT used for the X-directiondriving circuit 82 and the Y-direction driving circuit 83 is thinnerthan that of the TFT 84 for switching and the TFT 86 for currentcontrol. The capacitor 85 is the storage capacitance of the samestructure as shown in Embodiments 1, 4, 7, 8, and 9.

The active matrix type EL display in Embodiment 17 may be combined withany structure in Embodiments 1 to 16.

Embodiment 18

Embodiment 18 demonstrates an EL (electroluminescence) display deviceproduced according to the present invention. Incidentally, FIG. 20A is atop view of the EL display device and the FIG. 20B is a sectional viewof the same.

In FIG. 20A, there are shown the substrate 4001, the pixel portion 4002,the source side driving circuit 4003, and the gate side driving circuit4004. Each driving circuit is connected to the external device throughthe wiring 4005 and FPC (flexible print circuit) 4006.

The pixel portion 4002, the source side driving circuit 4003, and thegate side driving circuit 4004 are surrounded by the first sealingmaterial 4101, the covering material 4102, the filling material 4103,and the second sealing material 4104.

FIG. 20B is a sectional view taken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 20A. Onthe substrate 4001 are formed the driving TFT 4201 and the pixel TFT4202. The driving TFT 4001 (an n-channel type TFT and a p-channel typeTFT are shown here) is contained in the source side driving circuit4003. The pixel TFT is contained in the pixel portion 4002. (A TFT tocontrol current to the EL element is shown here.) In this embodiment,the driving TFT 4201 is the TFT of the same structure as the drivingcircuit shown in FIG. 1. And, the pixel TFT 4202 is the TFT of the samestructure as the pixel portion shown in FIG. 1.

On the driving TFT 4201 and the pixel TFT 4202 is formed an interlayerinsulating film (a leveling film) 4301. On it is formed the pixelelectrode (cathode) 4302 which is electrically connected to the drain ofthe pixel TFT 4202. The pixel electrode 4302 may be a light blockingconductive film (typically conductive film composed mainly of aluminum,copper, or silver, or a laminate thereof with other conductive film). Inthis embodiment, an aluminum alloy film is used as the pixel electrode.

On the pixel electrode 4302 is formed the insulating film 4303. Theinsulating film 4303 has an opening formed on the pixel electrode 4302.In this opening, the EL (electroluminescence) layer 4304 is formed onthe pixel electrode 4302. The EL layer 4304 may be formed from any knownorganic EL material or inorganic EL material. The organic EL materialmay be either a low-molecular material (monomer) or a high-molecularmaterial (polymer).

The EL layer 4304 may be formed by any known technology. The EL layermay be of laminate-layer structure or single-layer structure consistingof a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emittinglayer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer.

On the EL layer 4304 is formed the anode 4305 of a transparentconductive film.

The transparent conductive film may be formed from a compound of indiumoxide and tin oxide or a compound of indium oxide and zinc oxide. It isdesirable to remove as far as possible water and oxygen from theinterface between the anode 4305 and the EL layer 4304. Therefore, theyshould be formed continuously in a vacuum. Alternatively, the EL layer4304 should be formed in an atmosphere of nitrogen or rare gas and theanode 4305 should be formed such that it does not come into contact withoxygen and water. This embodiment employs the film-forming apparatus ofmulti chamber type (cluster tool type) which permits film to be formedas mentioned above.

The anode 4305 is electrically connected to the wiring 4005 in theregion indicated by 4306. The wiring 4005 is intended to apply aprescribed voltage to the anode 4305, and it is electrically connectedto the FPC 4006 through the electrically conductive material 4307.

In the above-mentioned way, the EL element is formed which is composedof the pixel electrode (cathode) 4302, the EL layer 4304, and the anode4305. This EL element is surrounded by the first sealing material 4101and the covering material 4102 (which is bonded to the substrate 4001 bythe first sealing material 4101) and is enclosed by the filling material4103.

The covering material 4102 may be glass plate, FRP(Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastics) plate, PVF (polyvinyl fluoride) film,Mylar film, polyester film, or acryl film. In this embodiment, atransparent material is used because the EL element emits light towardthe covering material 4102.

However, it is not necessary to use a transparent material if the ELelement emits light in the direction opposite to the covering material.In this case, it is possible to use a sheet of such structure in which ametal plate (typically stainless steel plate), ceramics plate, oraluminum foil is held between layers of PVF film or Mylar film.

Also, the filling material 4103 may be a UV light curing resin orthermosetting resin. It may also be PVC (polyvinyl chloride), acryl,polyimide, epoxy resin, silicone resin, PVB (polyvinyl butyral), or EVA(ethylene vinyl acetate). The filling material 4103 may be incorporatedwith a moisture absorbent (preferably barium oxide) so as to protect theEL element from deterioration. Incidentally, in this embodiment, atransparent material is used so that light from the EL eminent passesthrough the filling material 4103.

Also, the filling material 4103 may contain spacer. The spacer may beformed from barium oxide. In this case, the spacer itself is capable ofmoisture absorption. In the case where a spacer is used, pressure fromthe spacer may be relieved by a buffer layer which is a resin filmformed on the anode 4305.

The wiring 4005 is electrically connected to the FPC 4006 though theconductive material 4305. The wiring 4005 transmits signals to the FPC4006, wherein the signals are sent to the pixel portion 4002, the sourceside driving circuit 4003, and gate side driving circuit 4004. Thewiring 4005 is electrically connected to the external device through theFPC 4006.

In this embodiment, the second sealing material 4104 is provided suchthat it covers the exposed portion of the first sealing material 4101and a portion of the FPC 4006, so that the EL element is isolatedcompletely from outside air. The resulting EL display device has asectional structure as shown in FIG. 20B. Incidentally, the EL displaydevice in this embodiment may be combined with any structure inEmbodiments 1 to 4 and 6 to 16.

Embodiment 19

Embodiment 19 demonstrates an embodiment of the pixel structure that canbe used for the pixel portion of the EL display device shows inEmbodiment 18. The pixel structure is shown in FIGS. 21A to 21C. Thereare shown the source wiring 4401 of the TFT 4402 for switching, the gatewiring 4403 of the TFT 4402 for switching, the TFT 4404 for currentcontrol, the capacitor 4405, the current supply wirings 4406 and 4408,and the EL element 4407.

FIG. 21A shows the case in which the current supply wiring 4406 is usedin common for the two pixels. In other words, it is formed such that twopixels are symmetric with respect to the current supplying wiring 4406.In this case it is possible to reduce the number of current supplyingwirings and hence it is possible to make the pixel portion finer.

Also, FIG. 21B shows the case in which the current supplying wiring 4408is arranged parallel to the gate wiring 4403. FIG. 21B shows a structurein which the current supplying wiring 4408 does not overlap with thegate wiring 4403. However, they may be formed such that they overlapwith each other, with an insulating film interposed between them, ifthey are formed in different layers. In this case, the current supplyingwiring 4408 and the gate wiring 4403 occupy a certain area in common, sothat it is possible to make the pixel portion finer.

FIG. 21C shows the same structure as in FIG. 21B. The current supplyingwiring 4408 is formed parallel to the gate wiring 4403 and two pixelsare symmetric with respect to the current supplying wiring 4408. Thecurrent supplying wiring 4408 may overlap with either of the gate wiring4403. In this case it is possible to reduce the number of currentsupplying wirings and hence it is possible to make the pixel portionfiner.

Embodiment 20

The electro-optical equipment according to the present invention, ormore specifically, the liquid crystal display device according to thepresent invention may employ a variety of liquid crystals in addition tonematic liquid crystal. Such liquid crystals are disclosed in thefollowing, for example.

1998, SID, “Characteristics and Driving Scheme of Polymer-StabilizedMonostable FLCD Exhibiting Fast Response Time and High Contrast Ratiowith Gray-Scale Capability” by H. Eurue at al.; 1997, SID DIGEST, 841,“A Full-Color Thresholdless Antiferroelectric LCD Exhibiting WideViewing Angle with Fast Response Time” by T. Yoshida et al.; 1996, J.Mater. Chem. 6(4), 671-673, “Thresholdless antiferroelectricity inliquid crystals and its application to displays” by S Inui et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 5,594,569.

FIG. 22 shows the electro-optical characteristics of the monostable FLCin which the liquid crystal is ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) whichexhibits the isotropic phase—choresteric phase—chiral smectic phasetransition, the choresteric phase—chiral smectic phase transition takesplace under application of DC voltage, and the cone edge is alignedapproximately with the rubbing direction.

The display mode which the ferroelectric liquid crystal produces asshown in FIG. 22 is called “Half-V letter switching mode”. In FIG. 22,the ordinate represents transmittance (in arbitrary unit) and theabscissa represents applied voltage. For more detail about “Half-Vletter switching mode”, refer to the following.

Terada at al., “Half-V letter switching mode FLCD”, Preprints for the46^(th) Lecture Meeting of Applied Physics, March 1999, p. 1316;Yoshihara et al., “Time-sharing full-color LCD by ferroelectric liquidcrystal”, Liquid Crystal, vol. 3, No. 3, p. 190.

It is noted from FIG. 22 that the ferroelectric mixed liquid crystalpermits low-voltage driving and gradation display. The liquid displaydevice according to the present invention may employ a ferroelectricliquid crystal which exhibits such electro-optical characteristics.

A liquid crystal is referred to as an antiferroelectric liquid crystal(AFLC) if exhibits an antiferroelectric phase in a certain temperaturerange. A mixed liquid crystal containing an antiferroelectric liquidcrystal exhibits the electro-optical response property thattransmittance continuously changes with electric field. It is referredto as a thresholdless antiferroelectric mixed liquid crystal. Itincludes some specifies which exhibit the so-called V-letterelectro-optical response characteristics, with the driving voltage beingabout ±2.5V (cell thickness about 1-2 μm).

Usually, the thresholdless antiferroelectric mixed liquid crystal has astrong tendency toward spontaneous polarization and also has a highpermittivity. Therefore, when it is used for a liquid crystal displaydevice, the pixel should have a comparatively large storage capacitance.Consequently, it is desirable to use one which has a weak tendencytoward spontaneous polarization.

If the thresholdless antiferroelectric mixed liquid crystal mentionedabove is used for the liquid crystal display device according to thepresent invention, it is possible to drive the display device at a lowvoltage. This leads to power saving.

Incidentally, the liquid crystal shown in Embodiment 20 may also be usedin the liquid crystal display device having the structure shown in anyof Embodiments 1 to 16.

Embodiment 21

The electro-optical device and semiconductor circuit according to thepresent invention may be used as the display and signal processingcircuit of electric appliances, such as a video camera, a digitalcamera, a projector, a projection TV, a goggle type display (a headmount display), a navigation system, an audio playback device, anote-type personal computer, a game machine, a portable informationterminal (a mobile computer, a portable telephone, a portable gamemachine, and an electronic book), and a video reproducing device with arecording medium. Their examples are shown in FIGS. 23A to 25B.

FIG. 23A shows a portable telephone, which is made up of the main body2001, sound output 2002, sound input 2003, display 2004, operatingswitch 2005, and antenna 2006. The electro-optical device according tothe present invention may be applied to the display 2004, and thesemiconductor circuit according to the present invention may be appliedto the sound output 2002, sound input 2003, CPU, and memory.

FIG. 23B shows a video camera, which is made up of the main body 2101,display 2102, sound input 2103, operating switch 2104, battery 2105, andimage receiving unit 2106. The electro-optical device according to thepresent invention may be applied to the display 2102, and thesemiconductor circuit according to the present invention may be appliedto the sound input 2103, CPU, and memory.

FIG. 23C shows a mobile computer, which is made up of the main body2201, camera unit 2202, image receiving unit 2203, operating switch2204, and display 2205.

The electro-optical device according to the present invention may beapplied to the display 2205, and the semiconductor circuit according tothe present invention may be applied to the CPU and memory.

FIG. 23D shows a goggle type display, which is made up of the main body2301, display 2302, and arm 2303. The electro-optical device accordingto the present invention may be applied to the display 2302, and thesemiconductor circuit according to the present invention may be appliedto the CPU and memory.

FIG. 23E shows a rear projector (projection TV), which is made up of themain body 2401, light source 2402, liquid crystal display 2403,polarized beam splitter 2404, reflectors 2405 and 2406, and screen 2407.The electro-optical device according to the present invention may beapplied to the liquid crystal display 2403, and the semiconductorcircuit according to the present invention may be applied to the CPU andmemory.

FIG. 23F shows a front projector, which is made up of the main body2501, light source 2502, liquid crystal display 2503, optical system2504, and screen 2505. The electro-optical device according to thepresent invention may be applied to the liquid crystal display 2502, andthe semiconductor circuit according to the present invention may beapplied to the CPU and memory.

FIG. 24A shows a personal computer, which is made up of the main body2601, image input 2602, display 2603, and keyboard 2603. Theelectro-optical device according to the present invention may be appliedto the display 2603, and the semiconductor circuit according to thepresent invention may be applied to the CPU and memory.

FIG. 24B shows an electronic game machine, which is made up of the mainbody 2701, recording medium 2702, display 2703, and controller 2704.This electronic game machine produces sound and image which arereproduced on the display (including the body 2705 and display device2706). Communication between the controller 2704 and the main body 2701or communication between the electronic game machine and the display isaccomplished by wiring, wiringless, or light. The game machine in thisembodiment is constructed such that infrared rays are detected by thesensors 2707 and 2708. The electro-optical device according to thepresent invention may be applied to the displays 2703 and 2706, and thesemiconductor circuit according to the present invention may be appliedto the CPU and memory.

FIG. 24C shows a player (image reproduction device) with aprogram-recorded medium (or a recording medium), which is made up of themain body 2801, display 2802, speaker 2803, recording medium 2804, andoperating switch 2805. This player employs DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)or CD as the recording medium. It permits one to enjoy music, movie,game, and Internet. The electro-optical device according to the presentinvention may be applied to the display 2802, CPU, and memory.

FIG. 24D shows a digital camera, which is made up of the main body 2901,display 2902, eyepiece 2903, operating switch 2904, and image receivingunit (not shown). The electro-optical device according to the presentinvention may be applied to the display 2902, CPU, and memory.

FIGS. 25A and 25B show details of the optical engine to be used for therear projector (shown in FIG. 23E) and the front projector (shown inFIG. 23F). Incidentally, FIG. 25A shows the optical engine, and FIG. 25Bshows the light source optical system contained in the optical engine.

The optical engine shown in FIG. 25A is made up of the light sourceoptical system 3001, mirrors 3002, 3005-3007, dichroic mirrors 3003,3004, optical lenses 3008 a-3008 c, prism 3011, liquid crystal displaydevice 3010, and projection optical system 3012. The projection opticalsystem 3012 has the projection lens. The one shown in this embodiment isof three-plate type with three sets of liquid crystal display device3010. A single-plate type may also be acceptable. The optical pathsindicated by arrows in FIG. 25A permit optical lens or film to be placedtherein. The film may be one which has a polarizing function or whichadjusts phase difference. The film may also be IR film.

As shown in FIG. 25B, the light source optical system 3001 is made up ofthe light sources 3013 and 3014, synthetic prism 3015, collimator lenses3016 and 3020, lens arrays 3017 and 3018, and polarization conversionelement 3019. Incidentally, the light source optical system shown inFIG. 25B has two light sources; however, one light source will sufficeor three light sources will be acceptable. The optical path in the lightsource optical system may be provided with any of optical lens, filmhaving a polarizing function, film to adjust phase difference, and IRfilm.

As mentioned above, the present invention finds a very wide range ofapplications and can be used electric appliances of any kind. Theelectric appliances in this embodiment will be realized by anycombination of the structure shown in Embodiments 1 to 20.

The present invention permits one to produce TFT which has two gateinsulating films with different thicknesses on the same substrate.Therefore, when applied to electro-optical devices (typically AM-LCD) orelectric appliances having such electro-optical device as the display,the present invention makes it possible to arrange adequate circuitsaccording to specifications and required performance. Therefore, itgreatly improves the performance and reliability of semiconductordevices.

According to the present invention, the dielectric for a storagecapacitance can be made thin in the pixel portion of the electro-opticaldevice. In other words, a large storage capacitance can be formed in asmall area. In addition, the storage capacitance can be hidden under thegate wiring and source wiring. This makes it possible to secure asufficient storage capacitance without decreasing the aperture ratio inelectro-optical device with a diagonal smaller than 1 inch.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a pixelportion including a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels including apixel TFT and a storage capacitance; said pixel TFT comprising: a lightblocking film; an insulating film including at least a first insulatinglayer and a second insulating layer; an active film being formed overthe light blocking film with the insulating film interposedtherebetween; said storage capacitance comprising: an electrode beingformed in a same layer as the light blocking film; an dielectricmaterial; a semiconductor film having a same material as a drain regionof the pixel TFT, wherein the dielectric material is formed of a portionof the insulating film.
 2. A semiconductor device comprising: a pixelportion having a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels including apixel TFT and a storage capacitance; said pixel TFT comprising: a lightblocking film; an insulating film including at least a first insulatinglayer and a second insulating layer; an active film being formed overthe light blocking film with the insulating film interposedtherebetween; said storage capacitance comprising: an electrode beingformed in a same layer as the light blocking film; an dielectricmaterial; a semiconductor film having a same material as a drain regionof the pixel TFT, wherein the dielectric material is formed of a portionof the insulating film while the other portion of the insulating film isremoved.
 3. A semiconductor device comprising: a pixel portion having aplurality of pixels, each of the plurality of pixels including a pixelTFT and a storage capacitance; said pixel TFT comprising: a lightblocking film; a first insulating film being in contact with the lightblocking film; a second insulating film; an active film being formedover the light blocking film with the second insulating film interposedtherebetween; wherein the second insulating film is in contact with theactive layer; said storage capacitance comprising: an electrode beingformed in a same layer as the light blocking film; the second insulatingfilm; a semiconductor film having a same material as a drain region ofthe pixel TFT.
 4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the secondinsulating film has a thickness smaller than ⅕ of a total thickness ofthe first insulating film and the second insulating film.
 5. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device includes adriving circuit portion and the pixel portion over a same substrate,wherein the driving circuit portion includes a driving TFT, and whereinthe driving TFT has a gate insulating film thinner than the pixel TFT.6. A device according to claim 5, wherein a gate insulating film of thepixel TFT has a thickness in a range of 50-200 nm while the gateinsulating film of the driving TFT has a thickness in a range of 5-50nm.
 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor deviceis an EL display device, wherein an EL element is electrically connectedto the pixel TFT.
 8. A device according to claim 1, wherein thesemiconductor device is an electric appliance selected from the groupconsisting of a video camera, a digital camera, a projector, aprojection TV, a goggle type display (a head mount display), anavigation system, an audio playback device, a note-type personalcomputer, a game machine, a portable information terminal (a mobilecomputer, a portable telephone, a portable game machine, and anelectronic book), and a video reproducing device with a recordingmedium.
 9. A device according to claim 2, wherein the semiconductordevice includes a driving circuit portion and the pixel portion over asame substrate, wherein the driving circuit portion includes a drivingTFT, and wherein the driving TFT has a gate insulating film thinner thanthe pixel TFT.
 10. A device according to claim 9, wherein a gateinsulating film of the pixel TFT has a thickness in a range of 50-200 nmwhile the gate insulating film of the driving TFT has a thickness in arange of 5-50 nm.
 11. A device according to claim 2, wherein thesemiconductor device is an EL display device, wherein an EL element iselectrically connected to the pixel TFT.
 12. A device according to claim2, wherein the semiconductor device is an electric appliance selectedfrom the group consisting of a video camera, a digital camera, aprojector, a projection TV, a goggle type display (a head mountdisplay), a navigation system, an audio playback device, a note-typepersonal computer, a game machine, a portable information terminal (amobile computer, a portable telephone, a portable game machine, and anelectronic book), and a video reproducing device with a recordingmedium.
 13. A device according to claim 3, wherein the semiconductordevice includes a driving circuit portion and the pixel portion over asame substrate, wherein the driving circuit portion includes a drivingTFT, and wherein the driving TFT has a gate insulating film thinner thanthe pixel TFT.
 14. A device according to claim 13, wherein a gateinsulating film of the pixel TFT has a thickness in a range of 50-200 nmwhile the gate insulating film of the driving TFT has a thickness in arange of 5-50 nm.
 15. A device according to claim 3, wherein thesemiconductor device is an EL display device, wherein an EL element iselectrically connected to the pixel TFT.
 16. A device according to claim3, wherein the semiconductor device is an electric appliance selectedfrom the group consisting of a video camera, a digital camera, aprojector, a projection TV, a goggle type display (a head mountdisplay), a navigation system, an audio playback device, a note-typepersonal computer, a game machine, a portable information terminal (amobile computer, a portable telephone, a portable game machine, and anelectronic book), and a video reproducing device with a recordingmedium.